Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) says he supports a pathway to citizenship for immigrants living in the country illegally as part of an overhaul of the nation's immigration system. "If people want to come here and work hard and benefit, I don't care whether they come from Mexico or Ireland or Germany or Canada or South Africa or anywhere else," Walker said Tuesday during an interview with the Daily Herald Media Editorial Board of Wisconsin. "I want them here." Walker was then asked about the estimated 11 million immigrants living in the country illegally. The editorial board asked if he...

Don’t count Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus among those who believe comprehensive immigration reform is dead this Congress. Despite exasperation among reform advocates that the House has refused to vote on any major immigration bill — particularly the Senate-passed legislation — Priebus said that his “gut” feeling is that the House will indeed pass an immigration overhaul in the next 14 months. “Something significant is going to happen because obviously mass deportation is not an option. I don’t think doing nothing is an option. And I believe most people would agree that something significant needs to take place. Now...

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) will meet with President Obama at the White House Thursday afternoon to plot strategy for passing comprehensive immigration reform. McCain said Obama requested the meeting, which comes at a time political momentum for immigration reform is flagging. McCain and Obama need to shore up the support of wavering allies such as Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who has backed off the push to overhaul the nation's immigration laws in a 1,200-page comprehensive bill. Rubio has said the Senate should not try to merge its comprehensive bill with a piecemeal measure coming out of the House. McCain's ally,...

It’s been almost a year since Mitt Romney lost seven in ten Hispanic voters to President Obama, sparking Republicans to try and improve the party’s poor reputation with Hispanics. Yet, the GOP has little to show that its “re-brand” is working. On Monday, the Republican National Committee (RNC) announced that it hired “Hispanic engagement staff” in seven states; California, Texas, Florida, New Jersey, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Virginia. Chairman Reince Priebus called the hires “unprecedented” moves that “will ensure our message of ‘opportunity for all’ reaches voters.” The moves are the latest in a string of listening sessions and candidate...

Once the fiscal crisis has been resolved, President Barack Obama is going to push for immigration reform, he told the Los Angeles affiliate of Spanish-language network Univision on Tuesday. Obama, who largely managed to hold on to office on the backs of Hispanic voters, has long looked to easing the plight of the country’s 11 million illegal immigrants, but other issues have kept coming in the way during his second term.

Conservative columnist Michelle Malkin slammed what she called Sen. Marco Rubio’s (R-FL) latest rationale for passing comprehensive immigration reform; that President Barack Obama will enact reforms unilaterally with or without the GOP’s support. She called Rubio’s latest plea to conservatives “craven” and said that he should “go down fighting” against immigration reform rather than conceding that those reforms were already fait accompli. -snip- “To argue to conservatives who believe in limited government that we should pass this massive amnesty monstrosity because Obama is going to do it anyway smacks of the worst kind of political expedience,” she continued. “I think...

The drive to overhaul U.S. immigration law may get a high-profile boost next week, just as House Republicans begin to consider their legislative options, when former President George W. Bush addresses the matter at an immigration event at his presidential library. Mr. Bush, whose own effort as president to pass an immigration bill failed, rarely addresses current policy debates, but he has made clear that he supports the renewed effort this year. On Wednesday, he will address 20 new citizens as they are sworn in at the George W. Bush Presidential Center. Three panel discussions will follow on the topic...

As immigration reform grinds its way through the U.S. Senate, the main focus has rightly been on the legislation's policy consequences. But there are important political implications, especially for the GOP, that are worth examining. Some observers, including Phyllis Schlafly, Pat Buchanan and the Center for Immigration Studies, argue that if Republicans want to win back the White House, they should focus on white voters (who comprised 72% of the electorate in 2012) rather than worrying about Latinos. After all, new Census Bureau estimates are that 100,042,000 whites voted in 2008 but only 98,041,000 did in 2012. Wouldn't it be...

Potential presidential candidate Jeb Bush was asked about Sen. Ted Cruz on Friday and offered less-than robust praise for the tea party freshman from Texas. Bush suggested it’s one thing to point out how things are broken – and quite another to fix them. In an interview on the Christian Broadcast Network,

Making an argument for overhauling the nation's immigration system Friday to a crowd of conservative activists, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush claimed immigrants were "more fertile" and thus a great benefit to American society. His remark appeared to be an inarticulate reference to immigrants' fertility rates, which data show are higher than native-born Americans. "Immigrants create far more businesses than native-born Americans over the last 20 years. Immigrants are more fertile, and they love families, and they have more intact families, and they bring a younger population. Immigrants create an engine of economic prosperity,"

After signaling earlier in the day that his leadership style could lend itself to passage of immigration overhaul without the votes of a majority of his own party, Speaker John A. Boehner, R-Ohio, took some heat from outside conservative groups. The Conservative Action Project on Tuesday afternoon circulated a letter to House Republican lawmakers co-signed by dozens of influential movement leaders, urging them to formally adopt the “Hastert Rule.” Named for Rep. J. Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., who served as speaker from 1999 to 2007, the rule dictates that no bill come to the floor without assurance that a majority of...

On Friday, RNC Chairman Reince Priebus, announced the RNC raised $18.02 million during the first quarter of 2013, 27% less than the $25.2 million in receipts the RNC reported in the first quarter of 2009. Both reports were filed to account for contributions and expenditures in the first full quarter after a Presidential election. In the first quarter of 2009, Republicans had just lost the White House for the first time in 8 years. The Democrats controlled both the House and the Senate in Congress. President Obama's approval rating was over 60%. The party still managed to raise more money...

The national Republican Party released a scathing self-analysis Monday that party leaders hope will be the first step toward returning the GOP to a winning track after its election losses of November. The report, issued by a Republican National Committee task force, minces no words. "Public perception of the party is at record lows," the report says. "Young voters are increasingly rolling their eyes at what the party represents, and many minorities wrongly think that Republicans do not like them or want them in the country. When someone rolls their eyes at us, they are not likely to open their...

The Republican National Committee (RNC) has released its long-awaited study on the 2012 elections, with detailed recommendations about how the party can improve its future. The report, entitled the “Growth and Opportunity Project,” was compiled by a special committee consisting of former Gov. Haley Barbour of Mississippi, veteran GOP adviser Sally Bradshaw, former White House spokesman Ari Fleischer, Puerto Rico committeewoman Zori Fonalledas, and South Carolina committeeman Glenn McCall. For several months, RNC chairman Reince Priebus has referred to the committee’s report on the state of the party as an “autopsy.” It is an apt description, because the 100-page report...